Doubting Bigfoot

When we spoke last year with anthropologist Jeffrey Meldrum about his research on Bigfoot, not all of our listeners were impressed. Among them was science writer Brian Switek who says that focusing on fantastic tales comes at a cost: it blurs the line between belief and scientific method and it distracts us from the astonishing species that do exist. Well, Sasquatch is in the news again and Tuesday, Switek joins us to explain why rumors of Bigfoot DNA don't impress him either.

Also with us is Utah State University Folklore Professor Lynne McNeill. We'll ask her why belief persists despite a lack of incontrovertible evidence.

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Cryptozoologist Jeff Meldrum catches a lot of flak from his academic colleagues for his field of research. The critics disdain his ongoing study of Sasquatch. But Meldrum, an expert in bipedal locomotion, is convinced by the evidence that Bigfoot exists. He says that discrediting the study of creatures whose existence is unproven countermands the scientific commitment to explore the unknown. Meldrum joins Doug on Friday to talk about Bigfoot and the importance of objective scientific analysis.